Russia is pressuring the UK embassy in Moscow to close down and does not care about the consequences of its actions, according to the Foreign Office. This comes after the UK expelled a Russian diplomat and their spouse in retaliation for the expulsion of a British diplomat and a diplomatic spouse over allegations of espionage, which British officials deny.

In a strongly worded statement, the Foreign Office accused Russia of pursuing an aggressive campaign of harassment against British diplomats, making malicious and baseless accusations about their work. The expulsion of a British diplomat and their spouse is seen as another escalation, with the accusations made against them being described as false and fabricated.

The Foreign Office summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrey Kelin, and made it clear that the UK will not tolerate the intimidation of British embassy staff and their families. Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated that the UK will not tolerate the Kremlin’s campaign of intimidation and repeated attempts to threaten UK security.

Despite this, the Foreign Office emphasized the importance of maintaining diplomatic lines of communication and stated that the latest episode would be considered closed as long as Russia does not escalate further. Russia expelled the British pair, stating that it would not tolerate the presence of undeclared British intelligence personnel in the country.

The FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence service, accused the expelled individuals of being involved in espionage and sabotage work, with the embassy’s second secretary and the spouse of another diplomat being targeted. Russian intelligence services claim that the UK sees the restoration of US-Russian relations as a threat to its interests, with the UK regarding control over Ukraine as central to its strategy of containing Moscow.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/mar/12/uk-accuses-russia-of-driving-its-moscow-embassy-towards-closure